Aran Islands Trip

The Aran Islands consist of three islands: Inis Mor, Inis Mean, and Inis Oirr.  Inis Mor, the largest island, is where we spent our weekend.  This island was like nothing I have ever seen before; it is just a big rock. The weather was not ideal for our stay. It was cold and rainy, nothing new there, but our hostel did not have much heat.  This made drying our very wet clothes for the next day nearly impossible. We were also unable to do the bike tours we were planning on. Instead we took a bus tour.  I would have preferred to do the bike tour, but taking the bus meant we got to see more of island.  The cold, rainy weather opened my eyes to what it would have been like to live on this island just 60 years ago.  They did not have power until more recently and the only soil they have is hand made.  The whole island is solid limestone.  This means any soil that the locals needed to grow their food had to be made.  They would start by making an even field. The rocks that they removed from their ground were then used for the hundreds of miles of stonewalls that trace along the land.  These walls are used as property markers and as fences for their livestock.  After they had a flat surface they would bring seaweed from the ocean and layer it on the rocks.  They would also dig into the cracks of the rock for any dirt that might have gotten trapped. This life style, paired with the cold, was not for the weak hearted. The people we met on the Islands were some of the nicest people I have met yet. Everyone we met was extremely proud of the history of their island and wanted to share their story with anyone that would listen.